The Daughter In The Middle
by findingxlove
Summary: Fifteen years after Booth agrees to let Bones have a baby, problems begin to arrive with their daughter. Will Christine, Brennan's daughter, tear the partners farther apart or bring them back together? BoothxBones. Please review.


A/N: So I haven't been on here in a while. Sorry 'bout that. XD First Bones fanfiction. =D And for the purposes of the story, we're ignoring ages on some of the characters/time changes and all.

Chapter One

"I'm sorry, Cam. But I'll be unable to finish out my work today. Booth is taking me to the hospital right now because my..." Bones began, grabbing her coat as she began to leave the office.

Cam immediately cut her off, not wanting to hear an in-depth scientific description of the process of a pregnancy. "Having a baby is a perfectly good reason for leaving work, Dr. Brennan."

"Bones we gotta go! The hospital can't wait all day!"

After Booth had been released from the hospital, they'd discussed having a child once again. And Booth, who'd been hesitant in saying yes, had finally been convinced to give Brennan a baby by Angela's persuasive ways. It had later been discovered that she'd be having a baby girl. And sometimes the staff felt like Angela was going to be another mother to the little girl, along with the many shopping outings she'd been on with her friend and with the _many _gifts that had been bought. Not even Max, Booth, and even the whole Jeffersonian staff combined rivaled the amount of things that Angela had done for her best friend. The last few weeks had been very hectic in the lab, with Brennan constantly gone to doctor's appointments, and Angela insisted on going with her. And Hodgins constantly flirting with Angela. Sweets was trying to explain to Bones why having Booth's baby would affect their work relationship, no matter how much she protested, stating that psychology would do nothing on her. Booth as constantly insisting that he could help his partner in whatever she needed, saying that he knew how to be a parent and could help her financially, even though he knew that Bones was quite stable with her money and he wasn't doing nearly as well as she was. Cam was with Booth, insisting that Bones take some time off from work, but she'd been quite moody recently and insisted on staying.

The two were soon gone, and Angela approached Cam, looking the other direction. "Did Booth just take Brennan to the hospital?" she asked, glancing back towards her boss with an eager look.

Cam nodded, not even glancing up from the body. "Yup. He's taking her right now." Before even waiting for permission to leave the lab or even asking, Angela ran off, heading towards her own office to get her things before heading to the hospital. Cam, who understood that Angela wanted to go see the birth badly, let this one slide. But when Hodgins came, asking the same question, and headed out, she spun around as he ran off. "Yeah! Murder over here! I'll just...Take care of it myself!" she shouted to no one in particular. The woman let out a groan before turning back to the corpse. When Wendell approached, she could tell that he was going to politely ask to leave. "Fine...Tell them I'll be there as soon as I finish cleaning off the bones." Wendell smiled a bit, taking off after Hodgins. Sweets had probably already left, considering he worked for the F.B.I and not for her.

Bones, who was shifting around uncomfortably in the back seat, was trying to get rid of the anxious feeling inside of her. "Booth! Say something!" she shouted. During the past month or two, she'd become quite cranky, and Cam had backed off, allowing her access to bones sooner than she usually did.

"Like what? I'm trying to focus on driving right now! Do you wanna end up in a car wreck?"

"If it gets me to the hospital faster!"

Booth hadn't been quite himself either, feeling stressed about not really being able to be the girl's father. "So what're you gonna name her?"

"Christine!" Bones shouted. She really didn't need to shout, seeing as though the radio wasn't playing and that the only noise being made was made by Bones.

Booth paused for a moment. Christine. "That's your mother's name."

"I think I know the name of my own mother, Booth!" she insisted. Booth nodded slowly, wondering why she hadn't picked out her mother's real name, Ruth, instead of her fake one. Christine was the name she put on the tombstone, so he could understand why she'd picked Christine instead of Ruth. Perhaps Ruth would be the middle name or something like that. "Turn on the siren! What's the point of having one if you're never going to use it!" she insisted.

Traffic was thick in D.C. at the moment. Booth, who'd been consistently honking on his horn to try and get to the hospital, finally gave into her reasoning. Siren. She wanted a siren? He'd give her a siren. He flicked on the siren lights, immediately traffic became easier to get through. He'd managed to get to the hospital in about fifteen minutes after that, only to find that he'd probably never think of the back seat in the same way again.

The hospital. Cam had finally arrived, only to be told to wait for a while. Everyone besides Angela and Booth, who'd been allowed in the room, was waiting outside for updates. Now that they'd thought about it, they'd never heard Brennan scream before. It seemed so out of context for her, like it wasn't really her. They'd all agreed not to comment on it, seeing as Bones would say something along the lines as 'screaming is caused when your body becomes anxious and is in pain...' Max and Russ weren't present, even though they'd been called earlier. And everyone was beginning to wonder where they were. Why wouldn't Max show up for the birth of his own granddaughter? And knowing Russ, he would've been there hours ago.

"You may come in now." A nurse stated, stepping out into the waiting room.

"Well it's about time!" Hodgins snapped, glaring at the nurse only to find a tired-looking Bones holding a baby girl wrapped in a blanket.

Bones was wearing a hospital dress, her sweaty hair over her right shoulder. She was smiling, looking down at her little girl. Booth looked like he was about to collapse, and was lying down on the couch, groaning. He'd never known that his partner was capable of being so rude and saying such mean things to him. She'd been snapping at him over every little thing, shouting things like 'why did you convince me to do this, Booth!' which had grown old after a long time. Angela was hyper, looking down at her friend and the baby with glowing eyes. When Hodgins entered, she looked up and smiled a bit. She remembered when she'd told him that she'd wanted a million children, and had implied that she'd wanted_ his _million children. The average 'congratulations' were given to Brennan, and one was even given to Booth by the nurse.

Suddenly, a figure entered the room. "So I'm a bit late?" a voice asked that was recognized as none other than Max Keenan. He smiled at the site of his daughter holding the baby, and laughed when he saw Booth on the couch. "Oh come on, Booth! Daddy can't be layin' around at a time like this."

"Dad, I told you. I don't want Booth to be dragged into this."

Booth managed to sit up though, looking at Bones with a forced smile. "Oh come on, Bones. I told you I could help you out and all."

"No I can take care of her by myself.

"Yeah. I know that. But I can help you out if you ever need me to watch her, have someone to drive her somewhere...Beat up the boyfriends..."

"Booth, I can do this by myself!"

Max cut in, trying to break the argument before it got out of hand. Both Bones and Booth were on edge right now, and getting them worked up wouldn't be a really good idea. "So what's this pretty little girl's name?"

"Christine."

There was a long silence and an awkward pause from Max and the other lab members. None of them had bothered to ask what she'd be naming the girl, they were all too caught up in the excitement and work. "Well that's great! Your mother would've loved that!" Max insisted, trying to lighten the mood.

Once Booth and Bones were finally alone, they began talking. "Booth, I need your help."

"Yeah, of course!" he said, surprised by the question.

"I don't know what to call this..."

"What do you mean?"

"When I look at her," she began, looking down at Christine with a small smile, "I feel really weird. My heart feels sort of warm and hot. And I don't know what to say. I can't help but smile, and I feel sort of protective and all. And I really don't know what to identify this feeling as..."

Booth smiled a bit, leaning over the railing into the room where all the babies were kept. Bones had insisted on coming out here to see Christine, even though Booth had said that she take this time to rest. "That's a good thing, Bones. It's love."

* * *

_Fifteen Years Later..._

Christine Brennan, who'd insisted at the age of six that her mother called her Christy as all of her friends did. Bones, who'd been hesitant, claiming that she'd named her daughter Christine for a reason and felt that she needed to call her daughter by her legal name, gave in after the puppy dog face. Bones had become much more aware of human feelings, but even her own daughter had a better grasp of human emotions than she did, and was often useful. In many ways she was like her mother, rational, scientific, smart. But in many ways she was like Booth, over-protective, caring, strong. She'd been taken to martial arts classes when she was little, following the family tradition of being a fighter, and had gained a black belt at a young age. Booth had made sure to be present at everything she did, trying to show Bones that he could be of help to her. Christy had become close with her half-brother, Parker, but hadn't ever met Rebecca. Booth had insisted that the girl meet Parker, and he'd even babysat from time to time. Now that he was in college, the girl kept in contact with him over e-mail and things such as facebook, which her mother hadn't been able to figure out the point of.

She had hitched a ride home with her friend, seeing as though her mother was an hour late to pick her up than she was supposed to. Sometimes she began thinking that her mother was a workaholic, all business and bones. She'd always pushed her daughter academically.

Christy was about 5"6, an average height, and average weight. She had dark brown hair coming past her shoulders, that was worn up as usual. Her eyes were a twinkling blue color that reflected that of ocean waves. Today she wore a pair of lavender Juicy sweat pants with a jacket, her backpack strung across her right arm. When she entered the lab, she immediately saw her mother, who had her back turned to the entrance. Ignoring the whole 'you need a key card thing' she hopped up the stairs immediately, causing the alarms to go off in the lab. The faces gathered around the body turned, staring at her. "Mom! I was waiting for like an hour at school!"

Hodgins walked over to the steps, swiping his card to avoid the alarms. He placed his hands in his lab coat, smiling at Christine. As soon as Angela spotted the girl, she was attacked by hugs. Whereas Cam simply waved.

Her mother looked up from a skull, surprised. "Oh sorry. I must've gotten caught up in this case...Booth and I had to go to a crime scene. Why'd you come here instead of heading home immediately?"

"Because I didn't know where you were. This is the third time you've forgotten to pick me up in two weeks!" she insisted, glaring at Brennan.

Before she even asked, Cam nodded. "Go ahead. We'll take care of this."

Brennan led her daughter towards her office, setting a stack of papers down on the desk, sitting down in the chair. She obviously wasn't taking this too seriously, she didn't over-react at things like this. By now Christy was used to having to adjust to her mother's job, whether it was suddenly having her mother rush off to go somewhere. But Brennan's 'field work' had been cut back after Christy had been born, her attentions turning more towards family. "I'm sorry I didn't pick you up on time. Who brought you here?"

"Sam's mom."

"I really have to get back to work, can you just hang out here and do your homework or whatever. Study for finals."

"Fine..." Christy muttered. She sat down on the couch, pulling out her study guides and notes. Winter break was coming up, which meant finals were coming up next week. And of course, her mother had insisted that her daughter spent extra time studying. It wasn't as if she was going to let Christy fail out, not that she was. She, of course, had A's in all of her classes. Sometimes the girl even found it annoying. Before she knew it, her mother was giving a goodbye before heading back out towards the lab.

After about an hour of studying, Christy had decided to get on her mother's computer and was browsing around Bones's things. Before she knew it, she was even decorating the office for Christmas. Yes, Christy had managed to convince her mother into some Christmasy things, more than she normally allowed. There was even a mistletoe hung over the door, that she'd managed to get from Angela. She'd snuck in there too, taking some extra decorations. Christmas music was even playing, even though she knew that Brennan would object.

"What is going on here?" Bones asked, stepping into the office with Booth. Yet they'd entered at separate times, so Christy let the mistletoe thing slide this time, too focused in hanging up her own decorations.

Booth, who'd become somewhat close to Christy over the years at times when they'd met. Once she was old enough to understand that Booth was her father, she'd demanded that she be able to see him more. Her mother had finally agreed, giving her daughter some time with Booth. He'd always felt somewhat awkward about the fact that he couldn't really take care of her like a father should, but made sure that she was properly taken care of. But the one thing that Bones had strongly objected to was him taking the girl to church, and converting her. Although she didn't have the heart to tell her daughter that she thought she was wrong, and continued to let her daughter to believe whatever she wanted. "Christy!" Booth exclaimed. Bones frowned as he called her by her nickname, as he always did. He glanced around, observing the decorations. He pointed towards a casing of Bones and laughed, the girl had put an elf hat on the skull. "It's a little elf person!"

Brennan frowned as he brought attention to the elf. "Christine, please don't tamper with these bones. They're very old. Didn't I have that locked?"

"Yeah but the key was in your desk."

"So were many of these other things out here. What all did you go through?!" she insisted, opening things up only to find that everything was out of order. Christy only smiled innocently, turning back to the decorations. "How many times have I told you not to go through my stuff?"

Christy shrugged, glancing back. Booth turned back to Bones. "Bones, don't freak out that much. It's a teenager thing. Didn't you ever take things from your parents?"

"No!"

"Oh it's Christmas. Lighten up a little," he added with a smile.

Bones frowned. Her daughter's fifteenth Christmas. Her parents had disappeared around her own fifteenth Christmas, so this was a very significant time for her, making sure that her daughter wasn't upset about anything. But she had noticed a change in attitude around her daughter recently. Very subtle, but it was there. Perhaps it was just because she felt stressed to make her mother feel happy. Both Max and Booth were trying to make sure that this was a great time for the both of them.

"Someone forgot to pick me up today..." Christy muttered.

Booth turned to Bones, raising his eyebrows. "I said I was sorry!" Bones insisted, looking through the files on her computer after exiting out of facebook quizzes, Christy obviously didn't care that much about being caught.

"Three times in two weeks, Mom!" Christy practically shouted. Considering the two of them were both under so much stress, they'd both begun small arguments with each other.

"Christy, I've recently been caught up in my work. Please calm down."

"And then you forgot that Sam was gonna be spending the night. And she was finally over you were spending the entire time looking at photos of dead people! Human remains aren't a good topic of discussion for the dinner table. Especially when we have guests!"

"I'm sorry about that, I was just looking over evidence..."

The two were beginning to fight again, and Booth was caught up in the middle of it. That was when Sweets, somewhat reluctantly walked in. "Wow!" he shouted, breaking up the fighting. "I can see that we are having some serious arguments and some mother-daughter issues. How 'bout the two of you and Agent Booth come into my office so we can talk about this?"

"Wait why am I coming?" Booth asked, spinning around as Sweets mentioned his name.

"Because I think that all of us have allowed some serious family issues to be ignored for a long time and that we should get them resolved. You are Christy's father, whether Dr. Brennan wants to accept that or not. Christy obviously does, and I feel that she feels the need for some family conversations."

"I don't see a problem with it," Bones sided with Sweets. Booth finally gave in after Christy remained silent and the four headed down towards the office.


End file.
